Tability vs Notion: How to choose the best OKR platform

Setting and achieving goals is crucial for any organisation that wants to succeed. It gives everyone a clear sense of direction and purpose to work towards. One popular framework for goal-setting is Objectives and Key Results (OKRs). OKRs help companies align their teams, focus on what matters most, and measure progress towards their goals. But here's the thing - to set, track and achieve your OKRs efficiently and effectively, you need an intuitive and dedicated OKR platform. Think about it - when you have a user-friendly tool that makes it easy to define objectives, set key results, and monitor progress, it takes a lot of the friction out of the goal-setting process. Your team can focus on what really matters: working towards your objectives and delivering awesome results.

Tability and Notion are two popular solutions that teams often choose for managing their OKRs. In this post, we'll do a side-by-side comparison to help you figure out which is the best OKR platform for your organisation's needs. Whether you're a startup shooting for rapid growth or a large enterprise looking to streamline goal management, understanding what each tool brings to the table is the first step towards making a smart, informed decision.

What is Tability?

Tability is a powerful, AI-driven OKR platform designed to help teams achieve their objectives more efficiently. It enables individuals and teams to align their goals with the overall strategic objectives of the organisation, promoting transparency, accountability, and collaboration across the board. With Tability, teams of all sizes can stay focused on their most important priorities while easily tracking progress towards their desired business outcomes. Although Tability is primarily built around the OKRs methodology, it is flexible enough to accommodate various other goal-setting frameworks.

Pros:

• Purpose-built for OKR management, offering a streamlined and focused experience.
• Easy to set up and use with minimal configuration required.
• Feature rich.

Cons:

• Less flexibility compared to Notion for other use cases beyond OKR tracking.
• May not be suitable for teams needing a broader range of productivity tools.

Tability is ideal for:

1. Teams of all sizes seeking an intuitive, adaptable, and scalable platform for setting and tracking their goals and key performance indicators (KPIs).
2. Organisations looking for a cost-effective, user-friendly, and standalone alternative to all-in-one software solutions.

What is Notion?

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that combines notes, tasks, wikis, and databases into a single, highly customisable platform. It offers a flexible and versatile solution for various use cases, including project management, knowledge management, and goal-setting. While Notion is not specifically designed for OKRs, its adaptable features allow users to create custom templates and workflows to support their goal-setting processes.

Pros:

• Highly customisable and flexible for various workflows.
• All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, databases, and more.
• Strong collaboration features.

Cons:

• Requires more setup and customisation to fit specific OKR needs.
• Can be overwhelming for users who need a simple, out-of-the-box OKR solution.
• Some advanced features are behind a paywall.

Notion is a great fit for:

1. Organisations looking for a versatile tool that can handle multiple use cases, such as project management, knowledge management, and goal-setting, within a single platform.
2. Users who want an all-in-one solution for various productivity needs beyond OKRs.

Feature comparison

When comparing Tability and Notion for managing OKRs, it's important to note that they serve different purposes and have distinct specialisations. Tability is specifically designed for OKR management, while Notion is a versatile workspace for various productivity tasks. Both can be used for managing OKRs, but they cater to different needs and user preferences. Notion is known for its flexibility and customisation, making it suitable for a wide range of tasks. However, the drawback is that this flexibility requires complex technical configurations for OKR management. On the other hand, Tability offers a specialised, user-friendly solution for OKR management with minimal setup required.

This table breaks down the features of Tability and Notion:

Ratings and reviews

To figure out which platform will work best for your team, it's a good idea to take a closer look at what sets Tability and Notion apart. In this review, we'll dive into what users have to say about their experiences with both tools. 

G2.com ratings 

G2.com (formerly G2 Crowd) is a platform where real users share their honest opinions about the tools they use every day. It collects and verifies user reviews, providing insights and comparisons across various software and service categories.

Tability rating (105 reviews) = 4.7/5

Notion rating (5446 reviews) = 4.7/5

G2.com user reviews

To keep things fair, we’ve taken the most recent review for each platform from validated reviewers who are verified users. 

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What users like about Tability

• Ease of use: Users appreciate how quickly they can set up OKRs without needing extensive customisation.
• User interface: The UI elements are intuitive and self-explanatory, making it easy for users to understand and use the features.
• Progress tracking: Tability uses clear visual indicators to show progress, making it easy to see how objectives are progressing at a glance. Automated reminders help users stay on top of their OKRs, ensuring that updates are made regularly and nothing falls through the cracks.

What users dislike about Tability

• Missing features: Some users point out that Tability does not offer certain features they would find valuable. However, the reviews do not elaborate on the specific features absent from the platform.
• Learning curve: Some users experience a moderate learning curve when first setting up and familiarising themselves with Tability's features. It's worth noting, however, that this sentiment is not widely shared.

What users like about Notion

• Organisation: Notion's databases can be used to create custom views, filters, and relationships, which help in organising and accessing information efficiently.
• Ease of use: Users like the simple drag-and-drop interface for organising blocks of content, making it easy to rearrange information.
• Customisation: Users can customise pages with different layouts, using text, images, embeds, and other blocks to create a workspace that suits their needs.

What users dislike about Notion

• Customisation requirements: While Notion's versatility is a strong point, it also means that setting up OKR management requires significant customisation. Unlike dedicated OKR tools, Notion lacks out-of-the-box OKR systems, which means users need to create and configure databases, tables, and views from scratch or heavily modify existing templates to suit their specific needs.
• Reporting capabilities: The lack of robust reporting capabilities in Notion presents significant challenges for users managing OKRs. The need for manual setup and maintenance, limited visualisation and analytics options, and the reliance on external tools for advanced reporting make it difficult to gain deep insights into OKR performance.
• Learning curve: New users often find the sheer number of features and customisation options overwhelming, leading to a steeper learning curve compared to more focused tools.

Pricing

We know that finding the right tool for your team is important, but it's equally crucial to make sure it fits within your budget. Tability and Notion both offer a range of pricing options, and understanding the differences can help you make the best choice for your organisation.

To make things easier, we've done the legwork and compared the pricing plans of both platforms. This way, you can see exactly what you'll get for your money and determine which option provides the most value for your needs.

Tability pricing

Tability offers three different pricing options:

• Basic (US $4 per user per month)
• Plus (US $5 per user per month)
• Premium (US $8 per user per month)

Tability also includes a 14-day free trial (no credit card required) and is billed monthly. All prices include tax.

Notion pricing

Notion offers four different pricing options:

• Free (limited to up to 10 guests)
• Plus (US $10 per user per month)
• Business (US $18 per user per month)
• Enterprise (pricing upon request)

To use Notion AI, it’s an extra US $10 per member per month. 

Pricing scenario

Imagine you have a team of 50 people, and you're looking for an OKR platform that won't break the bank. With Tability, you have three affordable pricing options to choose from:

• Basic plan at just $4 per user per month
• Plus plan at $5 per user per month
• Premium plan at $8 per user per month

Let's say you opt for the Plus plan, which offers a great balance of features and value. For your team of 50, you'll be paying only $250 per month, which includes Tability AI.

Now, let's compare that with Notion's pricing. While they do offer a free plan, it's limited in features and only accommodates up to 10 guests. At a minimum, you would need to go with Notion’s Plus plan at $10 per user per month. That's a total of $500 per month (for 50 users), and if you want to use Notion AI, you'll need to tack on an extra $10 per member per month. That brings your monthly total to $1,000. If you want SAML SSO security, you have to go with the Business plan, which would set you back a minimum of $900 per month for a team of 50. Adding Notion AI would bring it to $1400 per month.

Integrations

When you're searching for your OKR platform, integrations should be a key factor in your decision-making process. Integrations are essentially the bridges that connect your OKR system with the other tools and platforms your team uses daily. 

Now, here’s an important point. While Notion and Tability both offer integration capabilities, it's essential to understand the nuances. Because Notion has a wide range of use cases - from note-taking to content planning and journaling - many of its integrations may not support your OKR management process within Notion. On the other hand, Tability's integrations are purpose-built to enhance your OKR journey. They are tailored to streamline goal-setting, progress tracking, and alignment across your organisation. What’s more, Tability has a Notion integration that allows you to embed your OKRs directly into your Notion pages.

To give you a clear picture of how Tability and Notion compare in terms of integrations, we've created a comprehensive chart.

Help me choose the best OKR platform

Selecting the right OKR platform is crucial for aligning your team's goals and ensuring efficient progress tracking. This section will guide you through the key factors to consider when choosing between Tability and Notion, helping you make an informed decision based on your organisation’s unique needs.

Step 1: Assess your organisation's requirements

If your primary goal is to manage OKRs effectively with minimal setup, Tability is designed specifically for this purpose. It includes built-in OKR templates, automated reminders, and progress tracking.

If you need a tool that can handle various productivity tasks beyond OKRs, Notion’s versatility allows you to manage projects, take notes, and create databases, all within one platform.

Step 2: Check out user ratings and reviews

Check ratings and reviews from other users to gauge satisfaction levels and common pain points. Platforms like G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot can provide valuable insights into user experiences. Look for customer success stories and testimonials from organisations similar to yours to understand how each platform has been successfully implemented.

Step 3: Look at your existing tools

Assess how well each platform integrates with the tools you already use. Ensure that the OKR platform you choose can fit seamlessly into your existing workflows, minimising disruption and maximising efficiency.

Step 4: Review pricing

Evaluate the cost per user for each OKR platform and consider your budget. Tability offers competitive pricing with plans that cater to different needs and budgets. Consider the overall cost, including any additional features like AI support or advanced security options. Notion requires a higher investment if you opt for features like Notion AI or SAML SSO.

Step 5: Consider the user experience and learning curve

Consider how easy it is for your team to adopt and use the platform. Tability’s user-friendly interface and minimal setup make it easy to get started quickly. Notion’s extensive feature set might require a steeper learning curve, especially for users unfamiliar with database management. 

Still not sure? This flowchart might make it easier…

The wrap

We've covered a lot of ground in this comparison, and by now, you probably have a pretty good idea of how Tability and Notion stack up against each other. 

Tability shines as a purpose-built OKR platform that's intuitive and easy to use right out of the box. With Tability, you can hit the ground running and start making progress on your goals from day one, without getting bogged down in complex setup or customisation.

Notion offers a flexible and versatile solution that can adapt to a wide range of use cases. While Notion may require a bit more setup and customisation to create an OKR workflow that works for your team, it's a great choice if you value flexibility and the ability to manage multiple aspects of your work in one place.

Ultimately, the right OKR platform for your team will depend on your unique needs, preferences, and goals. Whether you choose Tability for its intuitive OKR-focused features or Notion for its versatility and adaptability, the key is to find a tool that empowers your team to set ambitious goals, stay aligned, and achieve amazing things together.

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